Horror Art Online: The Girl In The Dark
by ultraatari
Summary: Horror Art Online is gonna be an ongoing series where I insert creepy-pastas as encounters in a sort of "what if Sword Art had been designed as Doki Doki Literature Club" kind of gag.


Kirigaza Karuto or "Kirito" as he always goes by in his online aliases. Has recently decided to play a new game for the nerve gear that promises to deliver excitement, horror, and adventure. A new developing company whom were rogues and laid off by previous sword and gun art staff for sexual misconduct, delays, or just all around incompetence unknowingst to their audience have developed this new game with high hopes they can disgrace their former colleagues by winning over gamers not with fancy open world content or competitive loot drops but rather an organic environment of suspense with retro aesthetics. Kirito's sister thinks the nerve gear has completely fried his neurons to even conceive going back into the virtual world after all that has happened in previous incarnations that may or may not make chronological sense in this narrative. Kirito responds with:

"Hey if Jeremy can still play Magic the gathering even after the way wizards of the coast treated him and thousands can still buy a God damn PS4 or Xbox game despite thousands more getting banned for saying heck on a minecraft server...I see no reason why I can't enjoy the nerve gear to live out my power fantasy just cause a few minor mishaps happen in pre-release."

"You could have DIED!"

"yeah well... least our parents can sue for that. Good luck in the other nerds getting a settlement over breaking some terms of service corporate wrote on a roll of toilet paper."

He lays down and boots up the nerve gear. In flashing lights he sees himself standing on a rainy street corner dimly lit. He feels the cold rain run down his hair and face. He begins to shiver a bit and as he looks at his hands he realizes he is wearing the same basic sword art online attire he used to wear.

"Well that's convenient... I mean they did say this game would get really meta so..."

All of a sudden faint music can be heard. It's the song "Video killed the radio star", and given the grunge punk look of his surroundings, it becomes apparent the feeling here is one of a nostalgiac 80s experience.

"Did I just buy vaporwave online?"

However he notices the harsh rain doesn't seem to be falling around a little girl whom he did not notice before.

"Well hey there little girl. Are you lost?"

She says nothing and just points at him.

"O...k? Are you some kind of NPC? I don't know what's going on here...OH GOD, PAIN. SUDDEN PAIN!"

Kirito falls to his knees in game and as he"s wheezing and notices blood spilling on the road pavement from his head he yells "log out LOG OUT"

The nerve gear signs him off effortlessly and he takes off the helmet. He runs to the bathroom mirror to check if there's any sort of noticeable damage but sees none. He sighs a bit in relief and goes to the kitchen to get a can of sweet tea and gulps it down to calm his nerves.

"Ok...so it is just a game. Maybe sis was right. After the bullshit all of us have endured maybe gaming just isn't worth it. But what else am I supposed to do to fill the monotonous void between eating, sleeping, and school? Watch Jordan Peterson videos and pretend him talking about Pinocchio is going to change my life?"

He decides to sleep on it whether or not he really wants to give this horror game a chance. As he falls asleep he's having a weird dream about school when all of a sudden standing at the doorway of the classroom is that girl from the horror game.

"BUH!" He says in a sarcastic but disgruntled tone. She raises her arm and points at him and he notices blood dripping on his school desk coming from his nose. The other students and teachers just point and laugh at him not noticing the little girl at all or responding maturely about this massive nose bleed. He wakes up.

"Christ... What's wrong with me? I survived a six month coma inside a do or die Skyrim but I'm this shooken up over a God damn mute loli?! Hell this IS Japan... I bet after she totally kicks my ass in a boss battle I wasn't meant to win I can turn around and sleep with her. Which actually wouldn't be half bad... hmm..."

As he scratches his chin at the prospective idea of soliciting a pixelated minor he glances over and notices it the little girl is next to his bed room door. His eyes grow wide with fear and when he notices that she raises her arm to point at him he screams like a stereotypical hentai girl " NO YAMATE!!!"


End file.
